HD camcorder

amitairos · 17-04-2009, 6:52 AM

Hi!
I'm looking to maybe get a camcorder.
I want it to be HD. I also want it to be small and cheap.
I want it to be less than 400 dollars.
I have a few questions also:

Are the Sanyo (Th1, CG10) good enough? Are Toshiba's good? Is the Panasonic SD9 good or else too old?

Can you please help me find a good camcorder for these specs?
Thanks a lot!

rogs · 17-04-2009, 9:31 AM

Of the three cameras you mention, the Panasonic SD9 is going to be the best. Problem is, it is now out of production and has been superseded by newer (more expensive!) models. If you can still find one, I would try and grab it!

yant · 18-04-2009, 9:49 PM

Agree, the SD9 is very well reviewed. A quality end-of-line camera is IMO a better bet than a current el-cheapo model.

OTOH, I think you may need to reconsider what you want. A cheap HD camcorder is quite likely to give you a worse picture quality than a similarly priced SD camcorder. HD creates problems that are not as significant for SD. Among which are motion blur and noise. Cheap HD risk to have poor performance for these problems. On top of that, you get the standard difficulty like colour accuray, over saturation, etc. Again a cheap camera that concentrated its development money in making it HD may very well have poor colour, etc. Maybe they didn't care, they just wanted to be able to stick a "HD" sticker on the camera...

So, are you sure you want HD? Or do you want good quality of the recorded video?

amitairos · 19-04-2009, 5:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yant

Agree, the SD9 is very well reviewed. A quality end-of-line camera is IMO a better bet than a current el-cheapo model.

OTOH, I think you may need to reconsider what you want. A cheap HD camcorder is quite likely to give you a worse picture quality than a similarly priced SD camcorder. HD creates problems that are not as significant for SD. Among which are motion blur and noise. Cheap HD risk to have poor performance for these problems. On top of that, you get the standard difficulty like colour accuray, over saturation, etc. Again a cheap camera that concentrated its development money in making it HD may very well have poor colour, etc. Maybe they didn't care, they just wanted to be able to stick a "HD" sticker on the camera...

So, are you sure you want HD? Or do you want good quality of the recorded video?

I didn't really think of that. I thought that today, not buying HD isn't worth it. Are there really good quality SD camcorders? Do you think I should still get the Sd9 even though it's a bit old? Or maybe I should get a good standard- definition camcorder?
What do you think of the Canon Fs100/Fs200(SD)?

amitairos · 20-04-2009, 11:33 AM

???

radman2002 · 20-04-2009, 12:01 PM

You can get the sd9 in Currys for £270

nikonuser11 · 20-04-2009, 2:40 PM

alternatively I'm still using a 5 year old Panasonic SD recorder and the PQ is still "as though your actually there"................however, I would imagine 5 years on an SD Camcorder would be even better and with most going for HD for the reasons you are but getting inferior quality I would get a 'cracking' SD camera for the price of a cheapo HD one.

amitairos · 20-04-2009, 5:41 PM

Hi!
Based on what you've said, I'm now considering some standard-def camcorders. These are what look good to me so far:

Canon FS100/FS200
Panasonic SDR-S26
Panasonic SDR-S15
JVC GZ-MS120 /MS130
Samsung SMX-F34

What do you think?
If you have any other ones to suggest, please do!
Thanks a lot!
P.S. Someone told me in another forum that Canon dropped the specs of the 09 fs200 and that I should get a fs21 or 08 fs100. Is this true? If yes, what specs?

yant · 21-04-2009, 6:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amitairos

I didn't really think of that. I thought that today, not buying HD isn't worth it. Are there really good quality SD camcorders? Do you think I should still get the Sd9 even though it's a bit old? Or maybe I should get a good standard- definition camcorder?
What do you think of the Canon Fs100/Fs200(SD)?

The sd9 is an discountinued model that was getting very good reviews when it came out. It is not perfect but good value if you can get it within your budget. I'd still consider it. Depending on money. OTOH, I would certainly pick the FS200 over the Maplin noname HD camera.

rogs · 21-04-2009, 8:02 AM

If you're UK based, then the deal described here:
The SimplyDV Forums • View topic - One-day price slash on Panasonic HDC-SD20!
might be worth considering

amitairos · 21-04-2009, 3:27 PM

Thanks!
I think now it's up to these:

Panasonic SD9
Canon FS100/FS200
Panasonic SDR-S26
Panasonic SDR-S15
JVC GZ-MS120 /MS130
JVC GZ-MG330/MG630
Samsung SMX-F34

What do you think? Which one to choose?
Please help.
Thanks a lot!

amitairos · 23-04-2009, 4:41 AM

Anyone?

rogs · 23-04-2009, 8:24 AM

Panasonic SD9

**senu** · 23-04-2009, 9:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amitairos

Thanks!
I think now it's up to these:

Panasonic SD9
Canon FS100/FS200
Panasonic SDR-S26
Panasonic SDR-S15
JVC GZ-MS120 /MS130
JVC GZ-MG330/MG630
Samsung SMX-F34

What do you think? Which one to choose?
Please help.
Thanks a lot!

If you cant get the SD9 get the FS100
They are all " small"
Beware of cheap ad not that cheerful, is why nobody is pointing you in any other direction

ckeener · 24-04-2009, 9:27 AM

After a long search for Camcorder I decided on the Panasonic HDC-HS100EBK Full HD Camcorder - Perfect choice, it is very user friendly, compact and light. I was totally amazed by the quality of the resulting videos. The HD Writer software is a bit disappointing in that it does not include full video editing features. But as you told you want it to be less than 400 dollars.You can go through the prices with other Hard drive camcorders before buying one.